


paper constellations

by ShionsTear



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, CEO!Torao, Employee!Gaku, Humor, Ice Skater!Mitsuki, Journalist!Nagi, M/M, Manager!Iori, Pastry Chef!Haruka, Pet Shop Manager!Touma, Romance, Soulmates, Tailor!Minami, Tailor!Tenn, Tailor!Yuki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:47:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21772444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShionsTear/pseuds/ShionsTear
Summary: “So…” he began to talk as he stretched out his arm. “Do you do this often?”“Well…” Minami chuckled, sliding the tape measure over the other’s arm to ascertain its length. “Considering this is my job, yes, quite often.”“…right.” he turned away his face in shame; he had always sucked when talking to his crushes and it wasn’t different this time either.
Relationships: Izumi Mitsuki/Rokuya Nagi, Kujou Ten/Yaotome Gaku, Midou Torao/Natsume Minami
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44





	paper constellations

Torao didn’t expect to immediately fall for someone after visiting his trustworthy tailor shop, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. He was standing in the entrance of _Suit Yourself!_ , the tailor shop he used to frequent ever since he got the position of CEO at his father’s publishing company.

As any other day, he drove to his favourite mall to visit his favourite shop to have a new suit be tailored to his liking – for an upcoming, important party – and had no other goals planned for the day. That quickly changed though when his gaze fell on a new employee who was arranging ties on a shelf at the back of the store.

Because Torao was a regular, he knew that the employee must’ve been hired only recently. He knew the other two employee’s personally – in fact, he discovered the other two behind and in front of the checkout desk – and was somewhat surprised to see someone else. The owner always mentioned how he didn’t want to deal with too many employees, so the new one must’ve been special.

He was definitely special for Torao, as he had already decided that he had a crush on the new mysterious person. He asked himself why so sudden, he couldn’t quite explain it. But after a short moment he shook his head: the person was just really incredibly beautiful. Though he knew better than others not to judge a book by its cover, it surely wouldn’t hurt to be interested in a pretty cover.

After thinking about the cover analogy in his mind for a little longer, Torao finally decided to step into the store and walk towards the checkout in the back. As he got closer he could already hear the two familiar figures arguing with each other.

“Gaku, for the love of god, we’re not going to get a cat and name it Soba.”

“Why not, that’s an adorable name!”

“Gaku!”

“Tenn!”

“Torao!” Torao greeted them.

“Oh, hey.” Gaku said from behind the desk.

“Midou-san, welcome.” Tenn turned around and smiled. “I’m sorry you had to witness this scene, but Gaku’s being ridiculous again.” he sighed.

“I heard that.” Torao chuckled and leaned onto the desk with one hand. “So you’re planning to get a pet, huh?”

“Yes, we’ve been wanting to for a while, but _someone_ doesn’t agree with my naming choices.” Gaku answered.

“We are not naming it Soba.”

“But---“

“No.”

“I think it’s a rather cute na---“

“No one asked your opinion.” Tenn interrupted Torao before he could say anything else. “Hah, why is my soulmate such an idiot?”

“Well sorry that I’m your soulmate.” Gaku crossed his arms.

“So he’s not denying the idiot part…” Torao whispered to himself. “How long have you known that you’re each other’s soulmates again?”

“15 years.” the two said at the same time.

“…”

“Since first grade when we were six.” Tenn explained.

“Right, I remember you mentioning that you grew up together.” Torao nodded.

“Yes. It was a writing exercise. We had to stand up during class and walk around with pen and paper and write down other kids’ names in hiragana. But because Gaku wanted to get at least one name right for sure, he immediately ran towards me and asked that we write down each other’s name and---“

“And then we knew.” Gaku finished his sentence.

“Wait, that worked? I thought you had to write down your soulmate’s full name on paper for it to trigger? Like, full with kanji and stuff?”

“Apparently not necessarily.” Tenn closed his eyes.

“Interesting. And how did you know?”

“Hmm, I dunno. I just did?” Gaku answered. “Tenn?”

“I agree, it seems you just _know_ when it’s them.”

“Hah, what a bother. That’s why I don’t care about this whole soulmate stuff. It’s just way too intricate. Writing someone else’s name down on paper? It’s 2020, couldn’t it have been something more convenient like, I dunno, your soulmate’s name is tattooed somewhere on your body.”

“That sounds super clichéd.” Gaku leaned back on his chair.

“But practical.” Torao retorted.

“Well it’s not like you’re bound by it. Not finding your soulmate is the overwhelming majority anyway.” Tenn said.

“Yeah you’re right. You two are actually the only two people that I know that are together with their soulmate.”

“Okay but Tenn?” Gaku turned to his partner.

“Hm?”

“About the cat’s name.”

“Hah…”

“Uhm, excuse me sir?” a voice called out to Torao from behind. He turned around and was met with a smile as pure as an angel’s. Metaphorical hearts exploded in the background as Torao tried to withstand the smile and utter a correctly sounding phrase.

“…yes?” that was everything he managed.

“Is there anything I can help you with? It seems my co-workers are currently…” the seashell colour haired man moved his gaze to Gaku and Tenn.

“If we name it Soba I’ll stop eating soba for an entire month.”

“You should eat less of that stuff to begin with.”

“What!”

“…busy with other matters.” the employee looked back at Torao and chuckled.

“Ah, yes. I actually wanted to get a new suit.” Torao cleared his throat and searched the other’s vest for a nameplate. “Uhh…”

“Yes?”

“Oh, I… was just trying to find your nameplate but---“

“Oh my…” he looked down on himself and noticed there was no nameplate to be found. “I must’ve forgotten to put it on today. Please excuse me, I haven’t been working here for that long yet so I---“

“No biggie. Was just curious.” Torao grinned.

“Oh right, Minami.” Gaku exclaimed. “Here.” he threw something at the other employee. “Found it in the dressing room on the floor, must’ve fallen off.”

“Oh, thank you very much, Yaotome-san.” he nodded and quickly attached it to his vest.

“Natsume Minami.” Torao read out loud.

“Indeed.”

“Can I call you Minami?”

“If you want.” Minami chuckled. “I don’t mind.”

“Cool.” he said while his inner self wasn’t cool at all. Ever since he started talking to Minami, his crush only seemed to grow more. Torao liked his appearance, his voice, his behaviour, his way of talking; he was trying his best not to blurt out anything stupid.

“So a new suit, yes?”

“Y-yeah!”

“Am I right with the assumption that you’ve been visiting Suit Yourself! before already?”

“Yup.”

“Very well then. Since the others still seem busy, I shall be the one to assist you.” Minami said, went behind the desk and sat down on a chair next to Gaku. “Do you want the measures to be taken anew or do you want to use previous ones?”

“I…” he started talking and stopped to think. Whenever he visited the store in need of a new suit he had always used the measurements from the first time. Torao tried his best to keep in shape and stay healthy, so there was almost no change to his body. “I’ll have them taken anew.” he said. The possibility of spending more time with Minami outweight his rational thinking.

“Very well.” he turned to the computer and typed on the keyboard. “Do you want it to be done now or would you prefer to make an appointment for another time?”

“I actually need to be somewhere in a bit, so maybe another time is better.”

“Understood. Is there any date you would prefer?”

“…” his desire to say ‘a date with you’ was strong, but he couldn’t just say that out loud. “When’s your next shift?” he said, realizing it wasn’t all that better either. “I-I mean---“

“Fufu.” Minami chuckled. “How does Tuesday next week sound for you?”

“In the morning?” Torao was glad that Minami ignored what he had just said.

“If you prefer that, certainly.”

“Alright.”

“Very well, then I shall write it down.” he typed again. “Next Tuesday at 9am, is that alright?”

“Yes.”

“Then I just need your name…”

“Torao.” a short pause. “Ah! Uhm, Midou Torao.”

“Thank you very much, Midou-san. The appointment’s been saved in our data.” Minami stood up and smiled. “Until next week then.”

“Y-yeah, thanks.” he bowed down slightly and turned to the other two, who were still bickering. “Bye guys.”

“See you.” they stopped arguing for a second to say goodbye in unison and then continued.

“See you, Minami.”

“Until then, Midou-san.” he bowed down. Torao turned around and started walking towards the exit.

“You still got it in you, Torao.” he told himself after he left the tailor shop. He put on his sunglasses and grinned. “Handled that as flawlessly as ever.”

✹✹✹

After Minami’s shift at the tailor shop was over, he didn’t head home immediately but instead went up some stairs in the mall. He was heading towards a pet shop. He entered _Doggelganger_ and walked straight to the bird section; he had to buy bags of seeds for his pet. When he got to the checkout with two bags he was delighted to encounter one of his friends at the register.

“Oh, hey Mina. Resupplying?”

“Indeed, Inumaru-san.” Minami smiled.

“He sure eats a lot for being such a small bird, huh?”

“I’ve been told they would, so I was prepared for it.”

“I see.” he laughed as he typed in the price. Minami had known Touma for a few years already. They met one day in their first year of university after Touma had gotten lost on his way to a lecture.

Minami was running late because he had pulled an all-nighter to finish sewing one of his assignments – he had studied design and history of fashion – and while on his way to his lecture, he had bumped into Touma. After seeing Minami with the long dress he had been carrying, Touma quickly decided to lend him a hand in carrying. Ever since then the two started to hang out more frequently and eventually became friends.

Minami paid and stored the two bags away.

“Oh yeah by the way, Haru texted me earlier.” Touma sighed. “He wants me to go buy 5kg of icing sugar before I go home.”

“Must be nice having such a reliable roommate like you.” he chuckled. “I don’t mean to question you, but why exactly did you tell me that?”

“That wasn’t the point!” a tiny blush appeared on his face. “He asked me if I wanted to taste test one of his new creations next Tuesday afternoon and I was wondering if you wanted to come along.”

“Taste test something made by an up and coming pastry chef? I would love to, but I work next Tuesday.”

“It’s in the afternoon. I have an exam in the morning so I’ll be craving something sweet afterwards.” Touma sighed thinking about said exam. While he was working as a manager of the pet shop, he was still studying to become a veterinary.

“Hmm, I’ll see if I can make it. I shall text you soon enough with my answer, is that okay?”

“Sure!”

“Alright, then I’ll be on my way home now. I wish you a pleasant evening, Inumaru-san.” Minami said and turned around to leave.

“Thanks, you too!” Touma smiled and waved his arm.

It was already late when Minami arrived home. He took of his coat and shoes and stepped into his small but cosy apartment. After turning on the lights, he walked to the big cage in the corner of the room and opened its door to let out his feathery friend.

“I’m back, Midori.” he greeted his green cheek conure and unpacked the seeds. Midori came out flying of his cage and landed on Minami’s shoulder. “Yes, yes, I will give you something to eat, please be patient.” he chuckled and scratched Midori behind his ear. After refilling the feeder, Minami turned on the TV to have some background noise and sat down on the couch.

He grabbed the sketchbook that was lying on the table and continued thinking about the costume he had been asked to create next. Midori was pecking on some seeds but quickly returned to Minami’s side. He landed on a cushion next to him and slowly walked onto the sketchbook as if to examine the drawings.

“You want to help me?” he asked and the bird answered with a squeak. “I’ve been in a slump lately and I can’t think of anything new. I’m done with his costume for the competition next week, but he wanted something new for the tournament in Russia next month…” Minami had the habit of thinking out loud when no one else was around.

As if wanting to help out, Midori snapped at the pen Minami was holding, snatched it out of his hand, walked over the page with it in his beak and threw it onto a pillow. After that, he turned around and squeaked at Minami. He couldn’t help but start laughing and scratched Midori on his head.

“…wait.” he said suddenly. “Feathers.” he grabbed the pen again, moved the sketchbook – which resulted in Midori flying away and onto the armrest – and quickly started doodling something. “Yes, this might work.” he smiled. “Thank you.” but instead of receiving Minami’s gratitude, Midori flew onto the table and pushed the remote control off of it; he loved throwing down things.

After some more minutes of sketching and more items landing on the floor, Minami’s phone rang with the notifications sound. He put the sketchbook next to him on the couch and took the phone out of his pocket.

“Oh, it’s from Izumi-san.” he said as he unlocked it and read the contents of the message. He smiled, chuckled and started writing back; he couldn’t wait to show them his new idea.

✹✹✹

“Alright Torao, do it like last week. Just play it cool.” he said to himself as he approached Suit Yourself!, ready to have his measures taken for the new suit. He took of his sunglasses and hung them into the opening of his shirt, as he always did, and entered the store.

“Ah, Midou-san.” Minami smiled as he noticed Torao at the entrance.

“Yo. I’m here for the appointment.”

“My, welcome, Toppi.” a voice said from behind.

“…Toppi?” Minami turned around in confusion.

“Oh, hey Yuki.” Torao waved his arm.

“It’s been a while. Need a new suit?” Yuki asked.

“Yup.”

“Well then… suit yourself.” he chuckled at his own, overused pun. “It was worth it naming the store that.”

“Midou-san, you know the owner as well?”

“Yeah, it’s… a long story.” he tried to change the subject.

“Anyway, I think Minami-kun has been waiting eagerly for you, so I’ll go back to look at cats with Gakkyun.”

“Y-Yuki-san!” Minami turned around, slightly embarrassed at how his boss had described the situation.

“Yuppi! I found a cat name blog and someone named their cat Soba too!” Gaku’s voice called from behind the checkout desk.

“I’ll be right there.” Yuki answered. “Well then, enjoy yourselves.” he said and walked away.

“…very well, Midou-san. If you could kindly follow me to the measuring room.” Minami said and led the way. Even though Torao already knew where to go, he quietly followed after him. They walked to a door on the back side of the store and entered. Behind there was a room with various rolls of fabric lined up on the walls and two cutting tables in the back.

Right next to the door was another small table and chair. Since he already knew the procedure, Torao started to take off his coat and suit jacket and put it on the chair.

“It seems I don’t have to tell you what to do.” Minami chuckled.

“I’m used to it. Ready when you are.” Torao grinned and stood still.

“Very well.” Minami grabbed a tape measure that was hanging on the wall and put a piece of paper and pen on the table. “Could you button up your dress shirt to the top?”

“Oh, sure.” he did as he was told. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, I don’t personally mind. It’s just to get better measures.” he smiled at him. Torao was unsure what to make of that statement, but for some reason he grew a bit nervous. “Alright then, first I’ll measure your neck.” he said and put the tape measure around it.

Torao tried to distract himself with his surroundings while Minami was doing his job, but all his attention was on the tailor. He was following the other’s movements with his eyes, only interrupting it to look at his face. Minami’s eyes seemed focused, concentrated on measuring as to not get any wrong numbers. Torao thought that he looked even prettier that up close.

Minami’s skin was light and soft, Torao thought to himself as his wrists were getting measured. Every thought in his mind turned around Minami, he was completely captivated by each of his motions. Whenever he’d measure a new part, he’d step back to the table and write down the numbers. Torao needed to break the silence.

“So…” he began to talk as he stretched out his arm. “Do you do this often?”

“Well…” Minami chuckled, sliding the tape measure over the other’s arm to ascertain its length. “Considering this is my job, yes, quite often.”

“…right.” he turned away his face in shame; he had always sucked when talking to his crushes and it wasn’t different this time either.

“Are you perhaps nervous, Midou-san?” Minami asked, gently putting the tape measure around Torao’s chest.

“Who, me? Nah.”

“I see. I was just curious because your heart rate seemed to be spiking a little bit just now.” he said almost teasingly and returned to the table to write down more numbers.

“Maybe I’m just overwhelmed by your beauty---“ he realized too late what he had said. “…ful room… it is… very pretty…” but he managed to ‘save’ it somehow.

“My, I’m glad to hear that. I shall let the owner know, fufu.”

“Th-thanks…” he sighed. _Is he doing this on purpose?_ he thought to himself, but at the same time he enjoyed finding out more about the new tailor.

Minami continued asking him various trivial questions about Torao’s job, what the new suit would be used for, etc. At some point, Torao seemed to have forgotten about the situation and was just having a nice chat with Minami, while having his measures taken, slowly but accurately. And before he knew it, it was already over.

“Alright, that was the last.” Minami said, tucking some strands of hair behind his ear.

“Oh, uhh… cool.” Torao remembered where he was and stretched his arms. He took his jacket from the chair and put it on again. Without exchanging any other words, the two left the room and headed towards the checkout desk. Gaku and Yuki were sitting on the chairs, intensely staring at something on the computer screen.

“Awww…” the two said at the same time.

“What are you two doing?” Torao asked, leaning over the desk to take a look at the screen as well. “Cat videos!?”

“Aren’t they adorable?” Yuki asked.

“Imagine Soba doing that.” Gaku added.

“Oh boy.” Torao sighed. “Where’s Tenn by the way?”

“Tenn-kun is off today, that’s why I’m here, silly Toppi.”

“But you’re not working.”

“Details.”

“Midou-san?”

“Yes?” his attention returned to Minami.

“I shall start working on your suit as soon as I can, with the fabric that you have mentioned in your mail.” he explained.

“Awesome, thanks a lot.”

“Since your phone number is saved in our system, I shall let you know when we’d be ready for a first fitting. Is that alright with you?”

“Absolutely.”

“Thank you very much. I wish you a nice day, Midou-san.” Minami smiled, sat down on the chair and turned to the second computer.

“Thanks, you too.” he bowed down slightly and turned around to leave. “And you two get some work done!” he turned his head to Gaku and Yuki but only got two thumbs up in response. He sighed once again and left the store.

✹✹✹

“I can’t wait to taste it.” Touma said, sitting at a small table together with Minami. They were at _All you knead is love_ , a small but cosy bakery and café in the shopping district of the city. Touma’s roommate, Haruka, worked there as a pastry chef and as he had explained to Minami the week before, he wanted them to try out his new creation.

The two were drinking a cup of coffee and chatting when Haruka appeared from the kitchen, carrying two plates. He put them down on their table and cleared his throat.

“I present to you…” he did a dramatic pause. “My new creation: _Fateful Encounter_.”

“Ohh!” Touma clapped his hands in excitement. In front of him was a rectangular piece of pastry. It was white and had his name written on top with something red; Minami had the same, but with his own name. “So… what is it?”

“It’s kind of like a mille-feuille, but less layers. Puff pastry’s the same, default cream’s vanilla, though I plan on having different ones. Top is glazed with two differently coloured fondants with a pinch of salt. Lettering is done with a 60:40 ratio of frozen raspberries and currants, though you can use other berries too. Cooked up with sugar to reduce the mass until you end up with a nice textured jam. Sifted to get rid of any solids and then mix in some gelatine sheets – alternatively gelatine powder, if you prefer that, I dunno why you should though – so it stays firm after you use a piping bag to write the name down.” he rambled and explained.

“…”

“Simple, right?”

“I understood _some_ of those words.”

“It sounds delicious, may I try it?” Minami asked. Haruka nodded and waited for a reaction. “I like the lightness of the pastry a lot and the other parts are very nicely incorporated. Very delicious dessert, thank you very much, Isumi-san.”

“Hehe, thanks.” he rubbed his nose and smiled smugly. “Of course it’s good.”

“I don’t quite get all this pastry stuff, but it’s very yummy, Haru.” Touma said after taking a bite as well.

“Obviously.” Haruka crossed his arms. “I created it for people that have trouble finding their soulmate. If they have someone they like, they can come here and I’ll serve them my pastry. The idea is for them to write down each other’s name on their dessert.”

“Ohh, that’s a really neat idea!”

“And well, if you wanna eat it alone, we can just write down whatever too.” he shrugged and sat down on an empty chair.

“Soulmates, huh?” Minami said more to himself than anything else. He looked down on his plate and smiled.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is that… a bad subject for you?” Haruka asked shyly.

“Oh, no, by no means. It’s a story of the past. And not very interesting.”

“If you wanna tell someone, we’ll listen. That’s what friends are for.” Touma said and Haruka nodded enthusiastically.

“There isn’t much to tell, really. There was once someone that I… well, thinking back, I’d say I loved them, yes… I met them in a lounge, where they played the piano. We eventually became friends and got closer too, but they didn’t feel the same way as I did. And we weren’t even soulmates or anything. And then one day they just vanished.”

“…I see…”

“I told you it isn’t anything worth mentioning.” Minami chuckled and put his hands around the coffee mug. “But well, since then I promised myself to not fall in love anymore and just wait for my soulmate to find me, though who knows how long that will take. Or if it will ever happen, right?” he smiled and took a sip of his drink. “Or well, that was the plan…”

“Oh?” Haruka seemed curious.

“Wait, so do you like someone right now? Is it your soulmate!? Who is it?” Touma got excited again.

“I’m… I’m not, it’s just that Mid---“ but before he finished his sentence, he coughed and drank a bit more. “So, how did you make the vanilla cream, Isumi-san?”

“Oh, well you see…” Haruka started rambling on again, not realizing that Minami had successfully managed to change the subject and avoid talking about his crush.

“…fine then. I’ll wait.” Touma shrugged and continued eating. “Man, this stuff’s really good.” he told himself while trying to make sense of what Haruka was explaining.

✹✹✹

Torao had parked his car in the underground garage and was taking the elevator up that led to the entrance hall of the local ice rink stadium, where the Japanese preliminaries would take place that evening. He had gotten a ticket for it from his father and though he wasn’t really interested in going at first, he found out that a good friend of his was going too, so he decided to use it as an opportunity to catch up with him.

“Okay, now where is he…” he said as he left the elevator and started looking around for his friend in the sea of people.

“ _OH!_ These little appetizers taste _fantastic_!”

“Heh, found him.” he laughed; he didn’t exactly see his friend yet, but he definitely heard him and walked to where that voice came from. “Hey Nagi.”

“ _Mister_ Torao!” a brightly smiling young man greeted him, a plate filled with appetizers in one hand, a glass of champagne in the other. “Welcome. Do you want a bite?”

“Sure, don’t mind if I do.” he said and took one from the plate. “Tasty.”

“ _Yes!_ I wanted to hold back on eating but everything is just so delicious. I have taken some pictures of it already too.” he pointed at the camera hanging around his neck. Nagi worked as a journalist for one of the magazines that were released under MIDO Publishing. They first met each other at a company-internal party some years ago and quickly became close friends as they bonded over the same interests.

“Nice.” Torao laughed, took a glass as well and chinked glasses with his friend. “Cheers.”

They spent some more time in the hall, eating and drinking, but after a while, they decided to slowly head to their seats and get ready for the show. Five famous and popular ice skaters were to perform that night and only the winner of the competition would be able to participate in the finale in Russia. They sat down on their seats in the VIP and press area and eagerly awaited the start.

Torao didn’t care that much about ice skating. He went to watch some performances now and then, but not necessarily out of personal interest and rather due the fact that they had an ice rink like that in town; it was more like a matter of course than anything else. But nonetheless, Nagi, a big fan of the sport, always managed to incite some excitement.

“So who do you think will win?” Torao crossed his arms.

“Well, _Mitsuki_ of course.” Nagi nodded.

“Who’s that, the tiny one?” he asked, looking at the rink where all contestants were currently warming up.

“ _Yes_ , he may be the shortest but he has the most passion.” Nagi explained. “And he’s my soulmate.”

“Ohh, I see.” he closed his eyes and nodded. “…wait, your soulmate!?” they shot open again.

“ _Yes!_ ”

“…does he know that too?” he turned to him.

“Well, I doubt it.” he smiled.

“When did you find out?”

“It happened about 15 years ago.”

“Fifteen!?”

“I was watching an ice skating competition on TV, together with my big brother and Thorvald.”

“Who’s that?”

“Our butler.”

“I forgot you were a rich guy, right…” Torao sighed. “So you watched that back in your home country, and then?”

“It was the _children’s league_ , so all participants were about the same age as me. I remember it vividly. I always thought that ice skating was a _magical_ art form and on that evening I was captivated by one of the skaters. I quickly asked Thorvald for a piece of paper and pen because I wanted to write down his name and look him up on the internet later and---“

“And once you wrote down his name you knew, huh?”

“Exactly.” Nagi smiled again. “I realized that he was my _soulmate_ , but I also accepted the fact that I would probably never get to meet him in my home country.”

“I see…”

“So I decided to move to Japan once I became an adult.”

“…sounds like you.” Torao chuckled.

“I studied a lot to be allowed to come here and I wanted to work in a field in which I was able to get as close as possible to _Mitsuki_.”

“When are you gonna tell him, then?”

“I won’t. I don’t want to force it onto him.” he said, a gentle smile on his face and his gaze focused on the orange haired skater on the ice. “If I get a _chance_ to talk to him and spend more time with him, then I will happily try to win him over, without using the soulmate trump card.”

“But why? Getting to actually meet your soulmate is such a rare opportunity. You got super lucky and even travelled half the world on your own just so you could---“

“ _Fate_ showed me who my soulmate is, yes, but it was my own decision to pursue this path.”

“Your own decision, huh…” Torao said to himself. That was why he never liked the soulmate system to begin with. Who had decided which two people where ‘meant for each other’? But he had never thought about it like Nagi. Sure, he got to know his soulmate. But he could’ve just decided to stay in his country. Everyone got to decide in the end. “Thanks man.”

“Hmm?” Nagi tilted his head in confusion.

“You helped me out a bunch, I know what I have to do now.” he grinned.

“I’m not quite sure that I understand, but you’re very _welcome_.” Nagi smiled. “ _OH,_ by the way, _Mister_ Torao. Did you start watching _Magical Kokona_ yet?” his eyes started sparkling.

“Oh, uhm…” Torao scratched the back of his head. They had promised each other to start watching the other’s favourite show a while back. “I kinda didn’t have the time for it yet, I’m sorry, I’ll let you know when I do.”

“Very well, I shall remind you of it every week.” his expression seemed a bit doubtful but he didn’t pry.

“And now without any further ado, let us welcome our first contestant of the night. Number 1, Izumi Mitsuki. ‘Amigo’.” the announcer said and applause filled the stadium.

“It’s time!” Nagi looked excited again.

“Whoa, his outfit has a cool design. I like the flames.”

“ _Yes!_ Mitsuki’s personal costume designer always makes beautiful pieces.”

“It does look very well made, must be a talented dressmaker.”

“Shh! His performance is about to start.”

“S-sorry.”

“Ahhhh! That was _fantastic!”_ Nagi exclaimed, leaning onto Torao’s shoulder, crying.

“Geez, are you really _that_ happy that he won?”

“ _Mister_ Torao, you don’t understand! Mitsuki will participate in the grand finale in Saint Petersburg next month!” he sniffed and dried his tears of joy. “I need to buy the plane tickets and book a hotel room.”

“You’re in charge of the ice skating articles for the magazine anyway, won’t they send you there for work?”

“But only for the time of the _event_ , if I go I want to explore the city as well.”

“Damn you rich people.”

“You’re not that poor yourself either, are you?”

“Shut up.” he said and started laughing. “Well, it’s getting late. Should I call a taxi?”

“ _No problem_ , I can take the subway.” Nagi answered. “And didn’t you come with your car?”

“Well yeah, but I drank, even if only a bit. You think I’m an idiot?”

“…”

“Hey, why aren’t you saying anythi---“

“ _OH!_ ” he exclaimed and stepped away.

“Don’t run away now!”

“I am not, but look.” he crouched down and picked up something from the floor.

“What’s that?” Torao stepped closer.

“It looks like an _earring._ ”

“Looks like a star.”

“I shall bring it to the lost and found counte---“

“I’m not leaving without it!!” a voice resounded in the distance.

“Nii-san, I’m sure we’ll find it, but you can’t just walk around and look for it.” a second voice said. Torao and Nagi turned around and discovered an orange haired young man arguing with a taller, blue haired man in front of the ‘only for participants’ door.

“Hey, isn’t that…” Torao was about to say, but Nagi grabbed the earring firmly and headed towards the two.

“Iori, you don’t understand, I---“

“ _Excuse me_.” Nagi said to them.

“Who are you?” Iori looked suspicious.

“I happened to overhear you two and I just found this on the floor and thought, perhaps…” he opened his hand and showed them the star shaped earring.

“My earring!” Mitsuki exclaimed. “Thank you so much!” he smiled and shook Nagi’s hand. That action startled him a bit but made him smile as well. Torao was observing the scene from a distance and chuckled.

“You wanna decide on your own, but fate sure wants you two to get together.” he whispered to himself, took out his phone and dialled a number.

“Oh no, _please_ , it was nothing. I’m glad I could help.” Nagi said.

“Wait, lemme repay you somehow. Uhh…”

“Oh no, I---“

“I know! Iori, give him my business card so he can call me!”

“Nii-san, as your manager, and the only one with common sense, I must advice you to not give your personal phone number out to everyone you just met.” he sighed.

“Geh, fine then.” he said and grabbed a card from Iori’s pocket and the pen from his jacket’s breast pocket. “If you don’t mind, would you tell me your name and number so I can return the favour? Please?” he smiled widely and looked at Nagi.

“…” Nagi looked back at him without saying anything for a while. But then he smiled lovingly and answered. “My name is Rokuya Nagi.”

“Oh, you back?” Torao said when Nagi returned. “What happened, was it his?”

“ _Yes_ , he was very happy to have found it again.”

“Cool.” the two started walking and left the building. “I called a taxi to come pick me up from the station, wanna walk there together?”

“Alright.”

“By the way…”

“Hmm?”

“What did tiny boy write down so vigorously?”

“Mitsuki wanted to repay me somehow so I told him my number and name.”

“And he wrote that down?”

“ _Yes._ ”

“On paper. With a pen?”

“ _Yes_.”

“…” Torao was wondering when he’d realized.

“…”

“…?”

“… _oh no_ …”

“There we go.”

“ _JESUS,_ I messed up!!” Nagi yelled and put his hand on his face. “I was so distracted by his smile that I completely forgot about it…”

“Well, guess he now knows too.”

“ _Oh my god…_ ”

“Heh, who’s the idiot now?” Torao laughed.

“Found it!” Mitsuki exclaimed happily as the door closed behind him.

“Seriously, Nii-san. How did you even lose it in the first place?”

“I had it in my pocket when we got here so it probably fell out without me noticing?”

“Hah…” Iori sighed.

“I’m glad you found it in the end, Izumi-san.”

“Oh, sorry for making you wait, Minami. Let’s talk about that new costume idea.”

“Very well.”

✹✹✹

“Okay it’s Saturday morning and I have nothing better to do. Time to watch Nagi’s favourite show.” Torao said to himself and sat down on his couch. He turned on the projector and selected the first episode of Magical Kokona. At the same time, a white cat jumped onto his lap and decided to take a nap there. “You have this huge couch with dozens of pillows to choose from yet you pick my lap?” he asked his pet.

The cat looked at him, yawned and closed his eyes again.

“Alright.” he caressed his cat and looked back to the screen.

He was almost done with the episode when his phone started ringing, so he quickly paused it, put the remote control next to him and answered the call.

“Yeah?”

“I wish you a good morning, Midou-san. This is Natsume Minami.”

“Minami!” he exclaimed, not having expected a call from him. His sudden reaction startled the cat and he walked off his lap. “Uhm… g-good morning to you too.”

“I hope I’m not bothering you, but I have finished the first draft of the suit and it’s ready for a fitting.”

“Oh, already? Cool.”

“Yes. I called to make an appointment with you and---“

“Uhh, I can make it today.”

“Really? That would be very helpful, yes. So I can expect you to come by today?

“Sure thing.”

“Alright, then---“

“Magical Kokona will save you! Your evil doings will never prevail!” Magical Kokona screamed through Torao’s loudspeakers.

“Hiro!” Torao yelled at his cat who had stepped onto the remote, which led to unpausing the episode. He quickly grabbed it and pushed the pause button again. “Uhm… I… m-my cat just…”

“Fufu.” Minami chuckled.

“…” Torao blushed and was happy that he couldn’t see him right now.

“Very well, Midou-san. I shall await you later today. Until then.”

“…yeah…” he said and ended the call. “Hah…”

“Meow.” Hiro meowed deeply.

“You think that was funny, huh?”

“…” the cat purred and stretched.

“Hah…” he sighed and decided to finish the episode before getting ready to head to the mall.

Since he was supposed to try on the first draft of the suit, Torao didn’t want to wear a suit for it, just to take it off again once he got there. But he was also that type of person that would never leave the house not styled. Yet at the same time he didn’t want to seem like he put too much effort into his outfit either. But in truth, he was just thinking too much about how Minami would perceive him.

He ended up wearing a pair of tight fit jeans, a black tank top and some necklaces; he figured that’d be easy to quickly take off for the fitting but also look great, considering the bright sunshine outside. Before heading out, he grabbed one of his sun glasses from his collection and refilled Hiro’s food and drink.

“I’ll be right back.” Torao said as he left his apartment and closed the door. Hiro jumped down from the couch and slowly walked towards the refilled feeding dish.

When Torao arrived at the mall, he decided to head to Doggelganger first and get something for Hiro. He took the elevator up, entered the shop, quickly found what he was looking for and walked to the checkout. After that, he took the escalators down to Suit Yourself! and entered, taking off his sun glasses.

“I almost didn’t recognize you dressed like that, Midou-san.” Minami greeted him. “Is that how you normally dress?”

“Kinda. I always dress accordingly. There’s a lot more.” he grinned.

“My, perhaps someday I’ll be able to see you in even more different outfits.” he chuckled and turned around. “Shall we then?”

“…uhm, yeah. Sure.” Torao was taken aback by his comment. _What was that supposed to mean?_ he thought to himself and followed him into the fitting room. Minami grabbed the suit that was hanging from a coat hanger on the wall and carefully laid it onto the chair.

“Alright, please change into it. I shall go fetch the measurements from last time, in case I need to change something. Please call me once you’ve finished changing.” he explained and left the room. Torao wouldn’t have minded to undress in front of him, but he figured it was better not to mention that and started getting changed. He put on the suit and called Minami back.

“It fits amazingly.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Minami smiled. “Can you move around in it well enough? Nothing too tight?”

“Nope, fits like a glove.”

“So I can finalize it without any alterations?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“Thank you very much.”

“No, thank _you_.” Torao smiled at him and looked down on the suit. He was glad about the colour choice. Not too wild but would still make an impact on the party. Minami put down the sheet with the measures on the table and noticed the bag from Doggelganger.

“Did you buy something for Hiro-san?” Minami chuckled.

“How do you know that I…” he was about to say but remembered the events from earlier and turned his head away in embarrassment. “Yeah…”

“Do you have any pictures?”

“I do!” he said, walked to the table and grabbed his phone from the jeans pocket. He unlocked it and opened his cat folder. “That’s him.”

“That is a very beautiful white Persian.”

“You know the breed? Do you have a cat too?”

“I do have a pet, but it’s a bird.”

“Ohh!”

“But a good friend of mine works at Doggelganger, so he tells me a lot about various animals.”

“The dog-kinda guy?”

“Well, you’re not wrong.” he had to laugh. Torao smiled, he really liked to see him laugh.

“Do you have any pics of your bird too?”

“I do, but my phone is with my private clothes right now.”

“Ah, right. You’re working.”

“I can send you one later, if you want.”

“I’d love to!”

“Alright. I’ll go back to the desk so you can take off the suit again. You may just leave it on the chair and come out once you’re done.”

“’Kay.” he nodded and watched Minami leave the room. “Hah… I wanna hug him.”

“Minami-kun, there you are.”

“Yuki-san, you’re back from the meeting with Banri-san?” Minami asked as he sat down on his chair.

“Yes, I could finally run away. Ban takes these meetings way too serious.”

“I’m glad someone is, at least.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yuki turned to him in surprise.

“Nothing.” Minami smiled and started typing on the keyboard.

“You finally started to blend in here.” he chuckled. “This calls for a toast. Do you want a cup of tea?”

“Will you brew some tea?” he looked surprised.

“Don’t be silly, Minami-kun.” he stood up. “I’ll get us something from the café next door.”

“Of course.”

“So?”

“Then some black tea. With milk and some sweetener.”

“Alrighty, I’ll be right back.” Yuki said and went to get some tea. Only moments later, Torao came back from the fitting room and approached the desk.

“Done.” he said.

“Then I shall let you know when your suit is ready to be picked up, yes?”

“Sounds good, thanks. Then I’ll get going now.”

“Alright, have fun with Magical Kokona.” Minami smiled at him.

“…th-thanks…” Torao sighed, turned around and started walking.

“Already on your way back, Toppi?” Yuki asked as he came back, carrying two cups of tea.

“Yup. And hey, you got yourself a great new employee.”

“Fufu, of course. _I_ have chosen him after all.”

“Sure.” Torao laughed and said good-bye.

“It seems he was happy with his new suit?” he put Minami’s cup down on the desk and took a sip of his own.

“Indeed. And thank you for the tea.”

“You’re welcome.” Yuki sat down again and looked at the computer. Minami continued typing and his thoughts drifted back to the day he had tried Haruka’s new pastry.

_I promised myself to not fall in love anymore and just wait for my soulmate to find me… Or well, that was the plan…_

“Midou-san…” he whispered almost inaudibly.

“Minami-kun, the cup!” Yuki exclaimed suddenly but it was already too late. Minami knocked off the cup of tea and it spilled over the paper sheet with the measurements.

“Oh no!” he stood up, grabbed the cup and put it away. “I’ll go get a cloth to---“

“Forget about that!” Yuki picked up the paper and let some of the tea drop off of it. “Quick, grab a clean piece of paper and write down the measurements, I’ll read them out for you.”

“Ah, uhm, okay.” he took a new piece of paper out of a drawer and put it on the counter, grabbed a pen and looked at Yuki. “Alright.”

“Okay. Uhh…” he looked at the paper. “Now that it’s come to this, maybe Ban was right and it’s time we start typing in the measurements on the computers as well and not just print out the forms with their names and personal data on it. But then we couldn’t write down the numbers on the paper, like a fancy traditional tailor would, and where’s the charm in that?” he was talking to himself.

“Yuki-san!”

“Ah, right, sorry.” he cleared his throat. “Well first, the name, you know that one.”

“Of course.” Minami said and wrote down Torao’s name.

“Alright, neck size is…” he turned around. “…Minami-kun?”

Tears were dropping down from Minami’s cheeks. One of them fell on ‘Torao’ and caused the fresh ink to blur out a bit.

“…are you okay?” Yuki asked concerned. “It’s not that bad, I can still see the numbers on it. I’ll talk to Ban about---“

“No, I’m… I’m fine…” he wiped away his tears and smiled with slightly red eyes. “Let’s continue.

“…alright.” Yuki smiled back; he somehow knew what happened, but he decided not to say anything.

After they had successfully transferred all the measures, they cleaned up the mess and Minami apologised for the chaos he had caused. Yuki told him not to worry about, that it wasn’t the first time it happened and that they maybe should stop drinking anything but water in the store.

The rest of the day passed by quickly and because no other customers seemed to be arriving, Yuki decided to close a bit earlier and send Minami home to relax and figure out his new discovery.

“I wish you a good night, Yuki-san.” he bowed down before heading out.

“Thank you, to you too. And good luck with Toppi.” Yuki winked. Minami blushed a bit, bowed down again and walked away quickly.

Minami flopped down on his couch immediately after letting Midori out of his cage. The green bird flew a bit and landed on his head.

“You have the entire room to land on yet you decide to sit on my head?” he muffled through a pillow, lying face down. Midori squeaked in response. “I see.” he stayed like that for a while, thinking about Torao. After realizing that, he turned around and stared out of the window. It was a cloudless night, the moon and stars were shining in the dark. Midori had flown back to his cage and was eating some seeds.

“So this is how it feels to know…” he started talking to himself. “And of all the people it could’ve been…” he continued and started thinking about his first love, a flashback playing in his mind.

_“The starry sky is beautiful tonight, isn’t it?”_

_“I…”_

_“I’m honoured that you feel that way about me, Minami, but…”_

_“But you don’t feel the same, right? I knew that. I knew that you had already found your soulmate and that it wasn’t me.”_

_“Did you write down my name?”_

_“No, I didn’t. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to tell.”_

_“I see.”_

_“…”_

_“But, Minami… I’m sure that you’ll find your soulmate one day.”_

_“How can you be so sure---“_

_“And I’m sure you’re going to cherish them as much… no, even more than me.”_

Ding.

The sound of a chime pulled him out of his daydream. Midori was playing with one of his toys on the table. Minami sat up and smiled.

“It seems you were right…” he turned his gaze to the side and looked at the costume on the dress form that he was currently working on. It had various red, orange and yellow feather ornaments sewn onto a dark, sparkly fabric. Minami took a deep breath and decided to work on it a bit more that night. He stood up and approached it, but before he started he remembered something else.

He picked up his phone from the table and chose a picture of Midori. He typed a short message and send it to Torao, a smile on his face as he pushed the button.

_“I’m sure there’s someone that will make you laugh a lot. About the most trivial things. That’s the person you should look for, Minami.”_

“…thank you, Sakura-san…”

✹✹✹

“Alright Torao, no matter what happens today, you’re gonna ask him out on a date. You just casually ask him what he’s doing on the date of the party and if he’s off you invite him. He must be off, it’s a Monday, the store’s not open then. Yeah. Sounds like a plan.” Torao was talking to himself inside of his car in the mall’s underground garage. He had gotten a message that the suit was finished and ready to be picked up.

After some minutes, he was standing in front of Suit Yourself!, his sunglasses hung onto his shirt and his gaze fixed on Minami in the back of the store. He took a deep breath and entered with big steps.

“Midou-san, welcome.” Tenn greeted him as he was arranging a suit in the shop window. “Here to pick up your suit?”

“Y-yes!” he startled a bit. He was so focused on Minami that he didn’t even notice Tenn there.

“I hope you like it.” he smiled and continued working.

“Thanks.” Torao answered and continued. Only a few steps later he was interrupted again.

“Yo.” Gaku waved his arm.

“…hi.” he turned to him. Torao had envisioned this moment a few minutes ago in his car and it certainly wasn’t _this_. He would walk into the store, take big, decisive steps to the checkout, put his hand on the desk and look Minami in the eyes as he asked him out. But it seems he wasn’t allowed to have his desired ‘cool’ moment.

“Suit?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” Gaku smiled as well and continued sweeping the floor.

“Hah.” Torao sighed and was about to give up on his ‘cool’ moment, but he found the courage once again. “Chin up, chest out!” he told himself, took a step and was immediately stopped by Yuki appearing in front of him. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

“Care for a cup of tea, Toppi?”

“You’re gonna brew it yourself?”

“Don’t be silly. There’s a café right next door.” Yuki chuckled. “You two really are made for each other.” he said and walked past him.

“What?” Torao turned around in confusion, but Yuki was already exiting the store.

“Ah, Midou-san.” a voice said from behind.

“Ah!” he startled again and turned around, just to be met with Minami’s smile. His plan was ruined, but he wasn’t mad.

“Welcome.”

“Minami…”

“You’re here for the suit, I assume?”

“That I am.”

“Very well.” Minami nodded and walked to the checkout desk. He typed something into the computer, stood up, left to get the suit and reappeared shortly after. “Here it is.” he handed it over with a smile.

“Thanks.” Torao grabbed it and laid it over one of his arms so he could take out his wallet to pay. A quick swift through the card reader and the transaction was done.

“Thank you very much, Midou-san.”

“You’re welcome, I guess.” he laughed.

“Ah, before you go. We recently implemented these customer review forms.” he said as he opened one of the drawers and placed a sheet of paper and pen in front of Torao. “Would you be so kind as to fill it out?”

“Oh, uhh, sure.” he leaned down on the desk and started reading it. “Let’s see… uhh… name of assisting tailor---“

“Natsume Minami.” Minami exclaimed, almost as if to cut his words.

“Obviously.” Torao started writing his name, but then his hand stopped moving after the last stroke.

“…”

“…holy shit.” he whispered after a short break.

“Midou-san?”

“Well, this isn’t going according to my plan anymore anyways, but it works out perfectly too so who cares?” he put down the pen, locked gazes with Minami and grinned. He got a smile in response and knew everything would work out. “Wanna go on a date with me?”

“Fufu.” Minami tucked some strands behind his ear. “I’d love to.”

✹✹✹

“I’m right on time.” Torao said, adjusting his bowtie with the help of the rear-view mirror. His phone’s notification sound interrupted him. “Yuki?”

[Have fun tonight.] the message read.

“How on earth did he…”

[Thanks, I will. The customer review form was a great idea.] he sent. It only took a few moments for an answer to come back.

[Customer review form? We don’t have those, silly Toppi.]

“…huh!?” he screamed at his phone in confusion. Only seconds later, the door to the passenger seat opened and a white suited person sat down next to him.

“Sorry for making you wait, Midou-san. Midori didn’t want to get off of me.”

“No biggie. Ready to party?”

“Definitely.”

They arrived at their destination and entered the big ballroom in which the party was being held. The two were greeted by some waiters that were carrying a tray with glasses of champagne. They each took a glass, chinked and drank from it. They walked around the hall, chatting, having a good time; it truly was how Torao had imagined it, at long last.

“ _Mister_ Torao?” he heard a familiar voice out of nowhere.

“…Nagi?” he turned around and found his blond friend, accompanied by someone else. “And tiny boy?”

“My, Izumi-san.” Minami smiled at Mitsuki.

“Minami, what a surprise meeting you here!” he laughed shortly and then everyone fell silent.

“Wait, you know him?” the four said at the same time, each of them pointing at someone else.

“I see, so that’s how it was.” Mitsuki laughed again. “World sure is small.”

“This is _amazing!_ We can all be friends now!” Nagi said, throwing his hands around Torao and Minami.

“That won’t be possible if you strangle us tonight.”

“ _OH, sorry_ …” he let go of them and apologised. The four continued talking for a while until Iori appeared and told his brother that there was someone waiting for him, so he and Nagi excused themselves. But before leaving, Mitsuki invited Torao and Minami to go watch his performance in Russia; he asked Iori to send them two tickets later and bid them farewell.

“Izumi-san seems happy, I’m glad.” Minami took a sip from his glass.

“Same with Nagi, honestly.” Torao chuckled. “I’ll tell you his story another time.”

“Very well.”

“But how about we go somewhere else? Just the two of us?” he stretched out his arm, waiting for Minami to hold onto it, just like in all the movies he had watched.

“Please lead the way.” Minami said, putting his arm around the other’s arm.

“Nice.” he grinned and made Minami chuckle.

The two stole away and Torao lead him onto a big balcony. He opened the door, let his date walk out and followed after him. They approached the railing and looked up at the night sky.

“Parties are great and stuff, but sometimes you just want to be alone with the person that you love, right?” Torao said after a moment of silence.

“My, dropping a line like that. I feel like I’m in a movie, Midou-san.”

“R-really? I wonder why…” he hoped that Minami didn’t know the movie he was inspired by.

“Or did it perhaps appear in one of Magical Kokona’s episodes?”

“…you’re never gonna forget about that, will you?”

“Please excuse me, but teasing you is quite entertaining I have to sa---“ a kiss cut his words in half and kept him from further talking.

“Hah, got you.” Torao said afterwards, grinning.

“You did indeed.” Minami smiled and looked skywards.

“Hm?”

“Someone once told me, that finding your soulmate is like looking up at the night sky. Just as it is filled with myriads of stars, there’s millions of people on the world. Clouds of stardust are like crowds of people. Finding your soulmate is like locating one small constellation in the endless darkness of the night sky. It’s just one small light among many. Difficult, but not impossible.” a tear rolled down his cheek.

“…Minami…”

“Thank you for finding me, Midou-san.”

✹✹✹✹✹

The alarm rang and woke him up from his slumber. Still half sleep, Torao tried to look for his phone and turn off the alarm. After he finally managed to silence his phone, he sat up on his bed and stretched.

“Good morning.”

“Morning, Minami.” he yawned while receiving a kiss on his forehead. Minami had woken up earlier and was preparing breakfast already. He was carrying two mugs and handed one to his boyfriend. “Slept well?”

“Like a log. Why’re you awake already?”

“I had an idea for Izumi-san’s costume for the competition in France next month. I couldn’t stay still so I stood up and started working on it.”

“Tiny boy only just won that damn thing in Russia two months ago, he sure never stops.”

“That is true.” Minami laughed. A bell resounded in the background, signalizing that Midori was playing around already as well.

“Huh?” Torao stared at his phone. At the same time, Hiro jumped up on the bed and laid down.

“Something wrong?”

“…Gaku sent me a message two hours ago?”

“What does it say?” he sat down next to him and drank from his tea. Torao opened the message and read it out aloud:

[OMG WE GOT A KITTEN her name is Soba]

✹ The End ✹

**Author's Note:**

> It was so much fun writing this, I hope you equally enjoyed reading it! It turned out to be one of my longest oneshots so far, but I'm glad I wrote it.
> 
> If you did, please let me know in a comment, I'd love to read your impressions.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading!


End file.
